This game isn't for everyone. But if you are fan of REALLY old-school RPG's, then I would recommend checking this out.
If that statement doesn't excite you in any way, then I would suggest saving your Microsoft Points for something else and move on. The reason is that 'PS2' is a brutal and difficult game to play at times. It is a grind & a chore to get through it. It's ugly, repetitive, difficult, annoying, clunky, and well......old. Most of the things we take for granted in RPG's of today are not present here. And that will frustrate even the most patient gamer. But if you can get past all of that, there is a very good RPG here.
'PS2' came out in the early days of the Sega Genesis. It was the sequel to the first console RPG ever, the original 'Phantasy Star'. 'PS2' changed and improved on several things and thankfully one of them was ditching the '3D' dungeons which had everyone lost in the first game (unless you made yourself a map. yes people did that back then) to a more traditional over-head view. Obviously the visuals are much better and the game boasts an outstanding soundtrack for it's time.
The 'Phantasy Star' series has always been a bit different than other famous RPG's because of it's futuristic setting. Most RPG's of that time (the late 80's, early 90's) stuck to the usual fantasy setting with kings, sword, knights, castles, etc. 'Phantasy Star' let you play in the future and has to get some credit for doing something different in a genre that had lots of copycats to the 'Final Fantasy' and 'Dragon Warrior' games.
Looking back on the series, 'PS2' is widely regarded at the second best game in the series behind the excellent fourth game. Don't even get the started on the terrible third game. So here is your chance to own a very highly respected RPG, from a legendary RPG series, that was made in 1989. And you can get it for a measly $5. Sounds like a great deal, doesn't it? It would be until you factor in that Sega released a retail disc with TONS of old Genesis games on it (including the 'Phantasy Star' games) for about $30. So why on earth would anyone purchase this game?
Well, if you are a big fan of old-school RPG's and want to get a full 200 gamerscore for going through this game, here is your chance. And in my opinion, it's definitely worth the $5 as you will get tons of gameplay hours here. So when people complain about having to pay $5 for this, it really doesn't make a difference to me. I like getting the extra achievements and I haven't bought the 'Sonic Mega Genesis Collection' yet.
So how is 'Phantasy Star 2' annoying and may not be a worth a purchase for some people? Well, this is a 20 yr. old RPG. So they game has very old visuals, which I don't mind much. I like the look of 16-bit games, so this never bothered me. While I think the music is outstanding, it's not coming from a disc (this was on a cartridge) so there is no actual real music here. But presentation issues aside......the game has some serious problems with menus and lack of direction. The most annoying thing in the game is how it abbreviates almost everything.
In the menus, everything over four letters long is abbreviated and not in the best way. Add to the fact that none of the spells are called what you are used to them being called in other games ('Fire' is called 'Foi' here) and it can get frustrating. There is no way to replenish your magic points (called 'technique points' here) by using items at all. You have to go back to a town. The game gives no description on what items actually do or the benefits of equipping something until after you use it. There is no map whatsoever, so getting lost in a dungeon is a regular thing if you are not paying attention. There is also VERY little direction on where to go or what to do next. That is incredibly frustrating if you don't have a walk-through handy.
Thankfully, this Xbox 360 port of the game lets you save anywhere, anytime. This is an absolute life saver and while it feels cheap to use it in a 'Sonic' game.......you won't ever feel that way here. And while it may seem weak, I would recommend having a FAQ or walk-through handy in case you get lost. This will save you hours and take away a lot of the frustration of game. The game is still hard (especially at the beginning), so it's not really taking away much of the challenge.
Another old-school thing about the game is all the grinding you will have to do. When I say, "grinding", and you either don't know what that means or you HATE doing it.......don't bother with this game. You will have to grind a lot to build up levels and enough money to purchase the equipment you'll need. Grinding and random battles are a staple of old-school JRPG's and 'PS2' is no different.
I am also not a big fan of how little storyline we get here. Most of the reviews I have read of this game rave about the excellent story. I, however, wasn't that engaged because there were very few moments that the story actually was brought up. There are very few cut-scenes and you spend almost all of your time walking around and fighting monsters. There are towns folk to talk to, but they repeat a lot of stuff and aren't that interesting. Thankfully, the ending is quite good but it could have been better if the game had more story throughout so it would have meant more.
Like I said, the 'Phantasy Star' series has it's own way of doing things, for better or worse. I have always preferred the 'Final Fantasy' -type of RPG myself, but the 'PS' series is a good batch of games. If you choose to take on 'PS2', make sure you have patience. This release is for people who used to love console RPG's of the past and want to re-live their youth. This isn't for newcomers who don't want to spend countless hours walking around and fighting monsters just to save up for a sword.